


Happy Birthday, Darth Plagueis!

by handschuhmaus



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Darth Plagueis - James Luceno
Genre: Birthday Cake, Flower Crowns, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, looking innocent in order to incite suspicion regarding something besides your most grievous error, objecting to festivities in ones own honor, the idea of a birthday spread concealing poisoning attempts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 09:39:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3724093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handschuhmaus/pseuds/handschuhmaus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several birthdays in the life of Hego Damask.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Birthday, Darth Plagueis!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pileofsith](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=pileofsith).



> The first two chapters (second coming soon) are a belated birthday present for the wonderful [pileofsith](http://pileofsith.tumblr.com).
> 
> A third chapter is intended, and I might have an idea for a fourth.

For one very brief interval, Hego Damask was tempted to remark on a sense of deja vu as he once more surveyed a spread of food put out for him by a member of the Palpatine family. However, the comment likely would have been lost on young Sidious, there had been no uncomfortable assurances that the food was vegetarian (and thus suitable for the Muun diet), the dungeon (a purely figurative label) at Aborah was nothing like the Palpatine estate, and clearly Sidious could not be presenting an analogous reception for him _at hi_ s _own estate._

“Happy birthday, Magister Damask!” the young redhead greeted him. Even Fourdee had been decked out for the occasion, festooned in a damask scarf in vibrant crimson, and small wreaths of flowers around its manipulator arms.

In fact, the droid came forth and deposited a mess of flowers–brightest red and pallid white–on his head, which turned out to be two items, a crown and a sort of necklace. “Pleasant felicitations, Magister,” Fourdee said.

Plagueis was torn for the moment over whether to play along for a while or to immediately accost Sidious with the list of errors he had committed. Sith did not throw birthday parties for each other. And then there was his birthday greeting. He was the apprentice, he was supposed to crave Plagueis’s power–well, perhaps that was not wholly necessary with his plans, but still he expected the young man to be more eager to murder him than to wish him further years as was implied by the greeting.

Was the food poisoned? Well– “Why don’t you have some food first, Sidious?” Not that it _would_ necessarily mean anything if he did; there was most certainly such a thing as preemptively consuming the antidote to a poison in the expectation that it might be tested thusly.

Palpatine shrugged and took a wedge of cake. Against his better judgement, Hego was tempted at the sight of the dark interior of the cake and the brilliant color of the filling, which promised intense berry flavor. Fourdee moved to fetch the Muun a larger slice. And, well, it _was_ his birthday.

Still– “Sidious, you _don’t_ wish–Sith don’t wish each other happy birthday.” At least not as a general rule. Certainly he had never acknowledged Sidious’s. He took a bite of cake– just a taste, to see if it was poisoned. _Sublime!_ Mind, he would take issue if this became a regular occurrence, but this once–had _Palpatine_ made it himself?

…His apprentice looked _too_ contrite. Why should he, when, as unbecoming as it might be to throw one’s master a birthday party, acknowledging it as an error this easily was even less suitable for a Sith? But then he probably _should_ have chastised him more firmly…

“Why, precisely, _did_ you decide to put on such an event?” he asked, continuing in his ridiculously kind line of questioning and then taking another bite of the _excellent_ cake.

“It is your birthday,” was Palpatine’s non-answer, in a carefully innocent voice. He was begging to be severely censured for his lack of guile.

“Sidious,” Plagueis began through a mouthful of cake, “how many do you think you will conquer with flattery? Have you no sense? This was a waste of your time.” The effect of this, alas, was rather spoiled by the fact that the Muun was lecturing with his mouth full. 

“Ah,” Sidious said disarmingly and stood on tiptoe to stare directly into his master’s eyes. “I don’t think so. I have drawn your attention successfully to my intentional transgression in exhibiting kindness. And, furthermore, you appear to be rather taken by the cake.” He then pivoted on his heel and strode out of the room, leaving Plagueis slightly puzzled at the cause of his triumphant attitude.

Over the next few minutes and the rest of the cake slice, it occurred to Hego Damask that Palpatine _should_ have still been occupied on the assignment he had been given, that he should not have come to Aborah either, even if Hego had been here in delightful seclusion among his laboratories, and that, yes, it had been a masterful bit of misdirection for Sidious to attract attention to intentional errors over the failure Plagueis was apt to rage and rant at him over. Shame on him for half his mind remaining back on a microscopic level in the lab instead of recalling Sith business. But–and normally he would have objected on principle–it _was_ a very good birthday cake. “Fourdee, put this in the statis. In the _kitchen!_ “

**Author's Note:**

> ~~tell me your birthday if you want more Sith birthdays as a present~~
> 
> _Also seen[here](http://rugessnome.tumblr.com/post/116121958968/happy-birthday-darth-plagueis-1)_


End file.
